Secular Students: The Overlooked Minority on College Campuses

Slightly more than one in ten college students is a nontheist. | Source

What Proportion of College Students Are Secular?

About a third of college students are not religious and the proportion who identify as secular appears to be increasing. Secular students are a sizeable minority, yet they are often overlooked.

Let’s begin by looking at the numbers for the religiously unaffiliated. This group includes atheists, agnostics, and those who report “no religious affiliation.” They are often grouped together as “The Nones.”

Survey of Millennials

According to Pew Research surveys, religion is in decline among Americans in general, but especially among millennials. A comparison of the statistics from the 2007 and 2014 surveys makes this obvious. (1)

Among the population as a whole, 22% report no religious affiliation, up from 16%.

Among older millennials, 34% report no religious affiliation, up from 25%.

Among younger millennials, the college-aged group who were between 18 and 24 years old at the time of the survey, 36% report no religious affiliation

% Nones

2014

2007

change

Total Population

22

16

+6

Older Millennials (born 1981 to 1989

34

25

+9

Younger Millennials (born 1990 to 1996)

36

--

--

It should be noted that not all of the Nones are atheists or agnostics. However, the trend is going in that direction. Among all adults, in 2014 7% were atheist/agnostic whereas in 2007 only 4% were atheist/agnostic.

The atheist/agnostic group is even higher among the college age millennials—in 2014, 13% self-identified as atheist/agnostic.(2)

% Atheist, Agnostic, or No Particular Religion

Among Younger Millennials (2014)

Among All Adults (2014)

Among All Adults (2007)

Total

36

22.8

16.1

Atheist

6

3.1

1.6

Agnostic

7

4.0

2.4

No particular religion

23

15.8

12.1

Survey of College Freshmen

Among college freshman, CIRP Freshman Survey shows that a large majority of incoming college freshman report no religious affiliation, and the trend shows that this group is growing.(3)

In 2016, close to one-third (31%) of college freshmen reported that they had no religious affiliation.

Thirty years ago, in1986, the proportion was only 10%

Survey of College Students

Another survey showed a similar proportion of students are non-religious. The American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) surveyed college students and found that 28% identified their worldview as secular; 32% as spiritual; and 32% as religious.(4)

Why Do Secular Students Get Overlooked?

Secular students may get overlooked because they are a relatively small group. As we saw in the previous section, only a little over one in ten (13%) are atheist/agnostic. Additionally, they don’t see themselves as an “interest group.” As a consequence, they are not visible to the rest of the student body.

There are several long-established campus organizations for the religiously affiliated. Some of the best known are:

Cru (formerly known as Campus Crusade for Christ) (a network of organizations for students belonging to Protestant denominations, especially the Evangelical ones)

[Note: Cru is short for crusade. The ministry explained the name change this way: "Cru enables us to have discussions about Christ with people who might initially be turned off by a more overtly Christian name.”]

In the past, secular students, tended not to be interested in joining a group based on what they did not identify with—a group for people without religion. However, that is changing. The Secular Student Alliance is a newcomer to campuses and it is growing.

What Is the Secular Student Alliance?

The Secular Student Alliance (SSA) was founded in May 2000. As of this writing (May 2018), there are 276 chapters with over 13,000 members making it the largest organization for secular students.

The website for the Secular Student Alliance gives the following mission statement. “The Secular Student Alliance empowers secular students to proudly express their identity, build welcoming communities, promote secular values, and set a course for lifelong activism.” (5)

SSA provides a wide array of services to its chapters, including leadership training and support, guest speakers (free or at discounted rates), free tabling supplies (pens, brochures, pens, stickers, banners, etc.) and even legal help. They also hold an annual conference for students.

What Does a SSA Chapter Do?

I live near the University of Central Florida located in Orlando Florida. It is a huge university with over 66,000 students. I’m on campus frequently because I attend an adult education program there. In front of the Student Union building, there is a lawn where student organizations can set up tables to promote their group to other students. The SSA table is always there.

To get a better idea of what a SSA chapter does, I went to the website for the SSA UCF chapter. The website provides an overview of the group activities.

Social events to combat the social isolation nontheists often feel

Education in the areas of science, critical analysis, and secular values

Positive activism to promote inclusion for all faith and non-faith individuals

Volunteer activities in the community

Peer support, especially for issues related to a non-religious identity, for instance, bullying)

There is a weekly meeting every Monday (followed by dinner at a local restaurant), a book club, a monthly movie night, a monthly humanist/peer support group meeting, and the occasional party, potlucks, brunch, etc.

There are also some special events like the Pi(e) Day Festival. [Pi(e) Day is on March 14, because the value of pi is 3.14. The event is held for kids to encourage an interest in science. [Of course, pie is served in order to celebrate the pun.]

Why Do Secular Students Need a Peer Support Group?

In a word, bullying. Non-believers are subject to discrimination and insults, both subtle and not so subtle.

At the present time, negative myths about atheists are so deeply ingrained that people express anti-secularist views without even realizing that this is prejudice. There was a popular article written in 2013 that cites comments by a disparate group of people blithely saying discriminatory things about atheists in some cases maybe without even realizing they were doing so —Oprah Winfrey, former Supreme Court Justice Antonio Scalia, and Time magazine are among those cited.6)

The SSA offers training for the volunteers, including modules on how to “identify and understand secular students and speak up against discrimination.” An article in The Atlantic magazine cited the following list of common misperceptions about secular students that may lead to discriminatory acts.(7)

Nontheists are just angry at god.

Nontheists worship Satan.

Nontheists have no morals.

Nontheism is the product of a personal tragedy

Nontheists are arrogant.

Nazis were atheists.

Nontheists love sinning too much to give it up.

Given the prevalence of false beliefs, it is not surprising to see that a recent poll found that 50% of Americans find atheists threatening.(8)

Peer support groups help students cope with these myths and the behaviors they inspire. Often when a student stands up for equal treatment for non-religious students, he or she is accused of advocating for discrimination against religious believers.

One of the many myths about atheists is that they are Nazis. They are not--not even close. | Source

Ms. Tee Rogers is a volunteer Humanist Chaplain and the faculty adviser for the UCF chapter of SSA. I spoke with her to learn about the types of discrimination students may face at college

She began our interview by stressing that “UCF is a genuinely welcoming and inclusive institution and we work to address issues that we become aware of—a lot of work has been done here to provide support.”

She pointed out that UCF is of community of more than 70,000 people (students, faculty, and staff). Given the university’s size, it is not surprising there are incidents that require education and advocacy efforts.

She mentioned the following challenges that are commonly faced by secular college students.

Prayer (faith expectation) at public university events

Faith organizations using free speech law as an opportunity to harass students on our campus

Faith/Non-faith conflicts between students and professors

Christian identities are welcome to be open and expressed; other identities may face an inability to be their authentic selves

International students feeling like campus groups are trying to convert them to Christianity

Stress caused by the knowledge that they are (according to statistics) not trusted, looked down upon, and not included

Stress caused by not knowing how others – including in power- inequity relationships such as supervisors and professors – would treat them if they came out as non-religious

Students facing relationship difficulties with family and friends because of their non-faith identity

Feeling that their challenges are not recognized by the institution and by society

What Is the Safe Zone Project?

The Safe Zone Project was originally designed to help LGBT students. When the sticker was displayed it was a silent indication that the room was a safe place where the student would not face discrimination.

SSA has adopted this program and modified it to include secular students. Jesse Galef, former communications director for the SSA, said, “It's shocking how often people tell secular students that they don't belong in America.”(7)

Many college students are not ready to embrace an atheist identity; they are in the process of examining the traditional religious beliefs they learned as a child and making a decision on religious identity for themselves. They need a place where they can feel safe when they ask questions. SSA Safe Zone provides a space for open discussion and acceptance.

Galef cautioned that “It’s important to approach the questioning student in a neutral manner. As Secular Safe Zone allies, we are not here to push either religion or nontheism."(7)

Does College Turn Students Into Atheists?

It is time to dispel the myth that college turns students into atheists. The change from religious to non-religious usually happens during the high school years. This is evident from the statistics cited in the first section of this article. Incoming college freshmen are just as likely to be non-religious as college students as a whole.

In fact, some studies show that the non-college group is actually less religious than the college group. Other studies suggest that religiosity has nothing to do with the level of education attained, but is due to life-style differences of college grads.(9)

Other studies reveal that the college-educated group is indeed more secular than their less-educated peers. But it’s not because their professors are indoctrinating them. In some cases, it is because they are away from home for the first time. They may be meeting people of other faiths or of no faith for the first time. They begin to realize that their religious behavior was more due to a desire to fit in and please their parents that because of deeply held religious belief.(10)

Believers have nothing to fear from their professors, and neither should they fear other students. Most atheists I know are very laid back. They don’t proselytize their non-faith and they will engage with a theist on this only when asked.

So does college make students become atheists? There is data on both sides of this question. Take your choice.(11)

The evidence is inconclusive either way, so just pick the answer that fits your own preconceived notions. | Source

What Is the Future for Secularism on College Campuses?

As the secular life-stance becomes adopted by greater numbers of people, secularism may be better understood. The myths cited above may begin to fade.

There is something else going on as well. Unlike their parent’s generation, atheist, agnostic, and humanist college students today more often consider their secularism to be an important, part of self-identity. Former SSA spokesman, Jesse Graff said, “"We're witnessing a major shift in our society. More students are proudly calling themselves atheists, which inspires others to do the same. We used to go out and find them. Now, they're springing up everywhere and finding us, asking to join the movement." (12)

Perhaps social media is playing a role in this, as well. Many young non-believers in the Bible Belt used to think that they were the only one who didn’t believe, but now they can see that there are hundreds of thousands, even millions of people, intelligent, attractive people, who think just as they do on matters of religion.

Please Share Your Opinion

Can college turn a religious person into an atheist?

Yes

No, not unless he/she already was an atheist who had not yet "come out."

I welcome your comments and/or questions.

No HTML is allowed in comments, but URLs will be hyperlinked. Comments are not for promoting your articles or other sites.

sending

AUTHOR

Catherine Giordano

7 months agofrom Orlando Florida

Eric Dierker: The goal is for no one to be bullied for any reason. And I wouldn't call the bullies whakos. I hope they get help too.

Eric Dierker

7 months agofrom Spring Valley, CA. U.S.A.

I guess I have lived in California too long. This idea of secularists having social issues because of their "belief structure". A young one in grade school and two older children graduates of our Cal. State programs. And among them three graduates of K-12 here.

All of the elder children went secular through college which I thought was normal. They emerged with a spiritual path but absolutely not a religious one.

Whackos are whackos and they come in all beliefs. Just like ISIS, blaming a religion for their attitudes is faulty logic.

I hope the secularists you speak of do get help. No group should be bullied.

AUTHOR

Catherine Giordano

7 months agofrom Orlando Florida

The Secular Student Alliance does not support intolerance. It is needed because, as you say, some religious people are intolerant.of those who have a secular world view..

AUTHOR

Catherine Giordano

7 months agofrom Orlando Florida

Thanks, Larry

Mary Norton

7 months agofrom Ontario, Canada

I'm glad there is such a support group for those who don't want to be affiliated with any religion. Religion helps some to be better persons but makes others intolerant of others and this I don't support at all.

Larry Rankin

7 months agofrom Oklahoma

Interesting read, as always.

AUTHOR

Catherine Giordano

7 months agofrom Orlando Florida

FlourishAnyway: I lived in NYC and I still got those kind of questions. It was phrased differently, tho. They said, "What are you?" I didn't understand what they meant. And I didn't know how to answer because I did not feel like I was a member any religion so I didn't consider myself anything. When I had a child of my own, I joined UU so he would have an answer to that question. I think it is great that SSA has chapters in middle school and high school as well as college. Thanks so much for your comment. .

FlourishAnyway

7 months agofrom USA

I’ve read every word of your article and appreciated it immensely. The worst thing my parents did for my personal development was move to a small town in South Carolina where the first question people literally asked upon meeting you was either where you went to church or “Are you Baptist or Methodist?” I wasn’t religious and that experience guaranteed I never would be. Talk about judgement.

AUTHOR

Catherine Giordano

7 months agofrom Orlando Florida

Eric Dierker: If you are asking if this article is about why one should or should not believe in God, the answer is No. If you just scan the section headers, you will have a good idea of what the article is about. It is about respecting the various groups relation to religion on campus.

Connect with us

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, owlcation.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

This is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)

Google AdSense Host API

This service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)

This is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)

Facebook Login

You can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)

Maven

This supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)

We may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.

Conversion Tracking Pixels

We may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.

Statistics

Author Google Analytics

This is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)

Comscore

ComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)

Amazon Tracking Pixel

Some articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)